Closed slotted conduit for electric railways



(No Model.) r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. G. J. VAN DEPOELE. M0331) SLOTTED GONDUIT FOR ELEOTRIG RAILWAYS.

' Patented July 9, 1889.

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No. 406,797. Patented July 9, 1889..

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UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS.

CLOSED SLOTTED CONDUIT FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 406,797, dated July 9, 1889. Application filed April 13, 1889 Serial No. 307,130. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES J. VAN DE- POELE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn,in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Closed Slotted "Conduits for Electric Railways and Means for Localizing Air-Pressure therein, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

My invention relates to improvements in sub-surface conduits for electric railways of the type in which the conductors are inclosed within a protective casing having a surface slot normally closed by flexible packing, and in which compressed air is or may be used for the purpose of excluding or ejecting water.

The invention comprises means for separating the conduit and conductors into 'elec tricallyconnected sections, as on draw bridges or turn-tables, and for supplying compressed air to isolated portions of the conduitfor instance, along lower levels where water would be likely to accumulate upon the surface of the roadway and so'enter the conduit through defective portions or about the contact device. I

The invention is also particularly applicable to switches where, owing to the necessarily complicated nature of the openings through the slot-closing packing, water would.

be most likely to eifect an entrance.

The invention comprises improvements upon Letters Patent No. 400,37 5, granted to me March 26, 1889, and the details of construction and arrangement will be fully herein pointed out, and referred to in the appended claims.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of an electric railway, including a switch, and embodying certain features of the invention. Fig. 2 is also a plan view of a portion of an electric railway, and shows a crossing to which my invention is applied. Fig. 3 is a plan view representing a turn-table arranged according to my invention. Fig. 4 is a view in elevation, partly broken away, showing the turn-table seen in plan in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a view in elevation illustrating the application of the invention to .a draw-bridge. Fig. 6 is a sectional plan view of means for closing the conductor-containing portion of the conduit for retaining the air-pressure therein. Fig. 7 is a sectional elevation on the line a a, of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation on the line b b of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail in sectional elevation, showing the extremities of the main and draw-bridge conduits.

As indicated in the drawings, A represents closed, as is the rest of both conduits, by

flexible slot-closing packing E.

In Fig. 2 are shown two main conduits A F, approaching from different directions and crossing at the point f. Thearrangementof the slot-closing packing may be in this instance, also, as in Fig. 1, substantially as shown, described, and claimed in an application for Letters Patent filed February 2, 1889, No. 298,432.

The particulars of the slot-closing contrivances not being claimed in the present application, they are immaterial.

A particular object of the presentinvention is to localize the air-pressure and confine the same to portions of the conduit where it is particularly desirable, instead of feeding the same through the entire conduit, since it is found in practice that it involves unnecessary cost to supply the air to portions of the conduit where from their position there is no tendency for Water or extraneous matter to enter. Compressed air is supplied from any suitable source to points at or near the crossings and switches d f through pipes G. The air supplied to desired portions 'of the conduit is localized and confined thereto by flexible stops or diaphragms I-I,which,whi1e permitting the passage of the contact device, are normally closed to prevent the escape of air into connecting portions of the conduit.

The stops H may be constructed as indicated in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, where the tubular form of the conductor B is discontinued and flexible metallic strips'b b substituted therefor. The metallic strips 1) b electrically connect the extremities of the conductors B and are inclosed within a flexible and elastic exterior case I, desirably of rubber, which incloses the metallic strips 1) b and extends upward into the space between the edges of the slot of the conduit or into contactv with the slot-closing packing E. The metallic strips 1) b are held in actual contact to close the conduit by springs it, placed against the exterior thereof and acting to press said plates, together with their inclosing elastic case, tightly together to close the conduit and prevent the escape of air. The contact device indicated at O is of elongated form and comparatively thin, and on reaching one of the stops H it will forcibly separate the metallic plates 1) b and pass between them, collectin g current meanwhile without interruption.

The turn-table indicated in Figs. 3 and 4 may be of any Well-known construction, and it is provided with a section A of conduit, which section is electrically connected with the main conduit by a branch conductor J. The extremities of the main conduit A are electrically united by a conductor J, which is joined to the turn-table branch J to supply currentto the vehicles when on the turntable. The other side of the circuit is similarly connected by conductor J The turntable section of conduit, as also the extremities of the main conduit, are provided with flaring extremities j to more effectually guide the contact device between the discontinuous portions of the conduit.

Stops H H are indicated in proximity to the turn-table, since it may be desired to maintain a pressure of air in the portions of the conduit adjacent thereto.

In Fig. 6 is seen the arrangement employed on draw-bridges and similar structures. The main conduit A A terminates at either end of the bridge, a section A extending upon the roadway of the bridge itself. Stops H H may be placed adjacent to the extremities of the conduit A approaching the bridge.

Various means have heretofore been proposed for supplying current to conductors carried upon draw-bridges while said bridges were in their normal or closed position; but so far as I am aware the main and branch circuits have been purposely made discontinuous. This I find very objectionable, since trouble is likely to occur with the circuitmaking and breaking devices, and I therefore provide the bridge with a permanent set of electrical connections, and also permanently insure the electrical continuity of the extremities of the conductor or conductors in the conduit or conduits terminating at the ends of the bridge.

The main conduitconductors are united at opposite ends of the bridge by a conductor K, which, as here shown, passes under the stream crossed by the bridge L For the purpose of this application the return-conductor is assumed to be formed by the rails A of the track upon which the cars. move when supplied with current from the conduit A, and the said rails A are permanently connected by conductor k, also shown as passing under the stream crossed by the draw-bridge L.

Upon the central support M of the bridge L are placed two insulated and protected annular or circular metallic surfaces 0 P. The conductorin the bridge-conduit A is electrically connected with surface 0, and said surface is permanently connected by conductor K with the positive conductor K. In like manner the rails upon the bridge are electrically connected to the surface P, which is in electrical connection with the negative conductor k by conductor so that the conductors of all portions of the roadway will always be charged with current, and no circuits Will be made or broken in the operation of the bridge.

Various minor modifications and changes in the above-described arrangements may be made consistently with the foregoing description without in any way departing from the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination, in a closed slotted conduit, of means for supplying compressed air thereto and for localizing the air-pressure therein, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with a conduit for electric conductors having a surface slot closed by flexible packing, of means for supplying compressed air to desired portions of said conduit and'for confining said air therein.

A closed slotted conduit having a conductor-containing chamber therein, flexible conductors at desired points along said con-. duit, and means for supplying compressed air to the conductor-containing chamber and for contracting the flexible conductor to close the chamber and confine and localize the airpressure.

4:- A fiexiblvclosed slotted conduit having a conductorcontaining chamber therein, fiexitract the casing inclosin g the flexible conductors and thereby render the conductor-com taining chamber discontinuous.

6. The combination, with a flexibly-closed slotted conduit and a conductor-containing chamber therein, of means for contracting and closing the conductor-containing chamher and a contact device adapted to forcibly open and pass through the said closed portion or portions of the conduit.

7. The combination of discontinuous portions of a conductor-containing conduit, permanent electrical connection between said discontinuous portions, a movable section of conduit adapted to connect the discontinuous stationary parts, and permanent electrical connections between the stationary and moving sections of the conduit.

CHARLES J. VAN DEPOELE.

Witnesses.

FRANKLAND J ANNUS, OHAs. L. STURTEVANT. 

